Conflict Incident Report

On 16 Jan 15, hundreds of people protested in Lebanon's north, south and Beirut's suburbs against the most recent cartoon published by French satirical weekly Charlie Hebdo showing the Prophet Mohammad on its cover. In the southern Beirut suburb of Mreijeh, about 100 people gathered to denounce the mentioned cartoon. In east Beirut, police briefly blocked a major road leading to the French embassy in anticipation of a protest. But the road was later reopened after protesters failed to show up. In the southern city of Saida, Palestinian protesters gathered outside the Khaled Bin Walid mosque at the entrance of Ain al-Hilweh refugee camp after Friday prayers, shouting slogans denouncing the French magazine. Security forces deployed heavily in other parts of Saida, mainly outside the French cultural center, in anticipation of possible demonstrations in protest against the French cartoons. In the northern city of Tripoli, several dozen protesters gathered in Abdel-Hamid Karami Square, also known as Al-Nour Square, to denounce the magazine. Residents of Tripoli’s Bab al-Rammel neighborhood began their protest at the Amira Mosque and marched towards Al-Nour square. Residents of Tripoli’s Mina neighborhood also joined in on the condemnation as they mobilized outside several mosques in the northern city. The LAF however, disbanded the protests over security threats in the city, leaving no room for escalation. Demonstrations were also reported in Rama & Amayer areas in Wadi Khaled-North Lebanon.

http://www.dailystar.com.lb/News/Lebanon-News/2015/Jan-16/284326-muslims...